Protective face masks are useful in a number of fields. In the health care field, a face mask may be useful for protecting both the patient and the health care provider from airborne pathogens or for preventing the transfer of pathogens that reside in bodily fluids or other liquids. Wearing protective face masks may also be useful in many industrial settings.
Many protective face masks are constructed to have a front panel that covers the nose and mouth of a user and a securing device (e.g., manual tie straps) that can attach this front panel securely to the head of the user. Often, the front panel and the tie straps are created separately in separate processes and then attached to one another (e.g., using adhesives, staples, or other mechanical fasteners). Face masks constructed from separate parts that must be joined together suffer from disadvantages. The attachment point between the front panel and the tie strap of a face mask may be broken, for example, by pulling on the tie strap. Also, the separate manufacturing processes of the separate parts and the joining step may result in a process that is relatively costly and time consuming. Additionally, the attachment points may be sites of weakness in the face mask. For example, the attachment of the two parts may result in apertures in the face mask that allow for the transfer of pathogens to or from the wearer of the face mask.
So-called single piece face masks are known. In this type of face mask, the front panel is formed integrally with side panels with openings that are used to attach the face mask to the wearer. The front panel and the side panels may be die cut from a web of material and formed at the same time. Some of these masks are stretchable to achieve a better fit on the face of the wearer. However, a stretchable, single piece face mask may not have the filtering efficiency desired for some applications.
Reliable face masks and convenient manufacturing processes for making them continue to be desired.